Priest came under fire for suggesting hurricane was God's punishment

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VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Monday formally rescinded the promotion of an ultraconservative priest who came under fire for suggesting that God punished New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina.

The Vatican announcement confirmed a previous decision by the priest, the Rev. Gerhard Maria Wagner, to give up the promotion.

In January, Benedict promoted the 54-year-old Wagner to the post of auxiliary bishop in Linz, Austria's third-largest city.

The move sparked outcry from Austrian Catholics and church groups that argued the decision could motivate people to leave the Catholic church.

Critical of Harry Potter novelsWagner had questioned whether the "noticeable" increase of natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina — which devastated New Orleans in 2005 — was a result of pollution caused by humans or the result of "spiritual pollution."

Wagner also has characterized Harry Potter novels as satanic.

Following the controversy, Wagner said last month that he was giving up the job as auxiliary bishop.